Hipoactivación en el área parahipocampal durante una tarea de “codificación/ recuperación”: estudio diferencial mediante RMf de pacientes con EA y DCL

Vuitenes Jornades de Foment de la Investigació de la FCHS (Any 2002-2003

First V-notching experiment in the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas

V-notching tagging has been practiced for decades in juveniles and ovigerous females of the clawed lobsters Homarus americanus and H. gammarus as an effective conservation strategy in several European and US fisheries. For the first time a V-notch experimental study was conducted with the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas with the aims of: 1) assess survival of notched versus unnotched lobsters, 2) assess differences in the incidence of shell disease of notched and unnotched lobsters, and 3) assess the rate of notch loss (tag retention) with respect to molt frequency. A total of 36 wild young adults were housed in a tank of 10000 litres separated in three replicates of 12 lobsters each one. Half of individuals of each replicate were marked with a v-notch (side 1 cm long). Tank environmental conditions (temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen) were controlled to mimic conditions in the wild. The experiment lasted 20 months. There were no significant differences in survival or health conditions of notched and unnotched specimens. After 15 months, all the indivudals had completed two molts and five of them have undergone the third one. After the second molt on average 25% of the notched area has been overgrown and lobsters with the third molt have overgrown 45% of the notched area. The performance of area, width and height of the V-notch tab for regulatory purposes are discusse

Performance of Baited Underwater Video: Does It Underestimate Abundance at High Population Densities?

Funding: This work was supported by a grant from the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technological Research and Innovation, the RECMARE project (CTM2012-36982 MAR) and by the SGP (Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries) for the ERICOL project. The South Australian Research Institute provided inkind funding support.Abstract Video survey techniques are now commonly used to estimate animal abundance under the assumption that estimates relate to true abundance, a key property needed to make video a valid survey tool. Using the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas as our model organism, we evaluate the effectiveness of baited underwater video (BUV) for estimating abundance in areas with widely different population density. We test three BUV abundance metrics and compare the results with an independently obtained abundance index from trammel-net surveys (Trammel). Video metrics used to estimate relative abundance include a value for total number of individuals per recording (TotN), the traditional maximum number of fish observed in a single video frame (MaxN) and the recently suggested alternative, the average of the mean MaxN from 5-minute periods throughout the duration of the recording (MeanN). This is the first video study of a wild population to include an estimate for TotN. Comparison of TotN with the other two BUV relative abundance metrics demonstrates that both of the latter lack resolution at high population densities. In spite of this, the three BUV metrics tested, as well as the independent estimate Trammel, distinguished high density areas from low density areas. Thus they could all be used to identify areas of differing population density, but MaxN and MeanN would not be appropriate metrics for studies aimed at documenting increases in abundance, such as those conducted to assess marine protected area effectiveness, as they are prone to sampling saturation. We also demonstrate that time of first arrival (T1) is highly correlated with all of the abundance indices,suggesting T1 may be a potentially useful index of abundance. However, these relationships require further investigation as our data suggests T1 may also become sampling-saturated as lobster abundance increases.Publicad

Components of a Neanderthal gut microbiome recovered from fecal sediments from El Salt

A comprehensive view of our evolutionary history cannot ignore the ancestral features of our gut microbiota. To provide some glimpse into the past, we searched for human gut microbiome components in ancient DNA from 14 archeological sediments spanning four stratigraphic units of El Salt Middle Paleolithic site (Spain), including layers of unit X, which has yielded well-preserved Neanderthal occupation deposits dating around 50 kya. According to our findings, bacterial genera belonging to families known to be part of the modern human gut microbiome are abundantly represented only across unit X samples, showing that well-known beneficial gut commensals, such as Blautia, Dorea, Roseburia, Ruminococcus, Faecalibacterium and Bifidobacterium already populated the intestinal microbiome of Homo since as far back as the last common ancestor between humans and Neanderthals.Results and discussion - Ancient DNA sequencing and damage assessment. - Detection of ancient human mitochondrial DNA. - Profiling of ancient prokaryotic DNA. - Putative components of the Neanderthal gut microbiome. Methods - Site and sampling. - Ancient DNA extraction. - Library preparation and sequencing. - Bioinformatics analysis. - Independent validation of taxonomic assignments. - mtDNA analysis and contamination estimate. - Statistics and reproducibility

Production of two novel laccase isoforms by a thermotolerant strain of Pycnoporus sanguineus isolated from an oil-polluted tropical habitat

A thermotolerant and halotolerant strain of Pycnoporus sanguineus was isolated from an oil-polluted site in a tropical area located in Veracruz, Mexico. This strain was able to grow at 47ºC and in culture medium containing 500 mM NaCl. The strain was also tolerant to the presence of 30,000 ppm of crude Maya oil. A 68-kDa protein purified submerged cultures exhibited laccase activity towards 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), guaiacol, syringaldazine and o-dianisidine, for which it presented the highest affinity (Km = 43 µM). Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis showed that, unusual for laccases, the enzyme has two active isoforms, with isoelectric points of 7.00 and 7.08. The purified enzyme showed high thermostability, retaining 40% of its original activity after 3 h at 60ºC. This property seems to correlate with a long “shelf-life”, given that at 40ºC enzyme activity was only gradually lost over a 5-day period incubation. Both, the fungus and its laccase aer likely to have high potential for biotechnological applications

The Suaineadh Project : a stepping stone towards the deployment of large flexible structures in space

The Suaineadh project aims at testing the controlled deployment and stabilization of space web. The deployment system is based on a simple yet ingenious control of the centrifugal force that will pull each of the four daughters sections apart. The four daughters are attached onto the four corners of a square web, and will be released from their initial stowed configuration attached to a central hub. Enclosed in the central hub is a specifically designed spinning reaction wheel that controls the rotational speed with a closed loop control fed by measurements from an onboard inertial measurement sensor. Five other such sensors located within the web and central hub provide information on the surface curvature of the web, and progression of the deployment. Suaineadh is currently at an advanced stage of development: all the components are manufactured with the subsystems integrated and are presently awaiting full integration and testing. This paper will present the current status of the Suaineadh project and the results of the most recent set of tests. In particular, the paper will cover the overall mechanical design of the system, the electrical and sensor assemblies, the communication and power systems and the spinning wheel with its control system

Ambient particulate pollution and the world-wide prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in children: Phase One of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)

Objectives: To investigate the effect of ambient particulate matter on variation in childhood prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. Methods: Prevalences of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema obtained in Phase One of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) were matched with city-level estimates of residential PM10 obtained from a World Bank model. Associations were investigated using binomial regression adjusting for GNP per capita and for clustering within country. For countries with more than one centre, a two stage meta-analysis was carried out. The results were compared with a meta-analysis of published multi-centre studies. Results: Annual concentrations of PM₁₀ at city level were obtained for 105 ISAAC centres in 51 countries. After controlling for GNP per capita, there was a weak negative association between PM₁₀ and various outcomes. For severe wheeze in 13-14-year-olds, the OR for a 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ was 0.92 (95 CI 0.84 to 1.00). In 24 countries with more than one centre, most summary estimates for within-country associations were weakly positive. For severe wheeze in 13-14-year-olds, the summary OR for a 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ was 1.01 (0.92 to 1.10). This result was close to a summary OR of 0.99 (0.91 to 1.06) obtained from published multi-centre studies. Conclusions: Modelled estimates of particulate matter at city level are imprecise and incomplete estimates of personal exposure to ambient air pollutants. Nevertheless, our results together with those of previous multi-centre studies, suggest that urban background PM₁₀ has little or no association with the prevalence of childhood asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis or eczema either within or between countries

Asthma in changing environments - chances and challenges of international research collaborations between South America and Europe - study protocol and description of the data acquisition of a case-control-study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Asthma in children is an emerging public health problem in South America. So far, research in this part of the world is limited. This paper presents the methodology and description of the data acquisition of an asthma case-control study conducted in the Central South of Chile.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A hospital-based case-control study about asthma (188 cases, 294 controls) in children (6-15 years) was carried out in Valdivia, Chile between November 2008 and December 2009. Data on asthma risk factors were collected by computer-assisted personal interview using validated questions from e.g. ISAAC phase II. Data on household dust exposure (endotoxin, allergen analyses), skin prick tests to most common allergens, stool examinations for parasitic infection, and blood samples (total IgE, genetics) were collected. Additionally, 492 randomly chosen blood donors were recruited in order to assess allele frequencies in the population of Valdivia.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Overall 1,173 participants were contacted. Response was 82% among cases and 65% among controls. Atopic sensitization was high (78% among cases, 47% among controls). Cases had a statistically significantly (p < .0001) increased self-reported 12-month prevalence of symptoms of rhinitis (82% vs. 51%) and wheeze (68% vs. 16%). The study is well placed to address current hypotheses about asthma and its correlates in the South American context. Results of this study might help develop novel, innovative and individualized prevention strategies in countries in transition with respect to the South American context.</p

Mechanical and electrical properties of additively manufactured copper

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has become the new paradigm of design and production strategies. While structural and functional materials are the most implemented ones, it is also possible to manufacture parts using precious metals, being copper one of the most interesting. Among AM technologies, the novel Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM) hasrecently included this material between available ones. ADAM is free from thermal and energetic issues caused by high reflectivity and conductivity of copper which other AM encounter. Therefore, it could be a great alternative to manufacture pure copper. In this work ADAM was used to fabricate pure copper specimens in order to measure electrical and mechanical properties. The influence of a machining post processes in strength and ductility is also discussed. Results are compared with wrought C1 1000 copper and published results of other AM technologies. Despite the newness of ADAM, significant improvement in surface roughness and comparable results in other properties was observed. However, further research shall be done to optimize the manufacturing parameters in order to increase the relative density value, as it was found to be significantly lower than in other AM technologies